This week has witnessed the destructive and sinister actions of two deranged and evil men who sought to sow havoc and hatred upon others. The first, of course, was the attempted (or feigned) mail bombings by an unstable individual in Miami targeting prominent Democrats. The second is the vicious, senseless, and horrible mauling of Jews assembled within their own synagogue in Pittsburgh for the purposes of prayer, fellowship, and worship. Obviously, neither of these events is in any way tolerable in a Republic or in American society. And although there is, I expect, complete unanimity on this matter, the consensus breaks down with the attempt at identifying the root cause of our malady.

Many explanations can be posited for the deterioration in the interactions between Americans we have recently witnessed. Some blame the faster-paced society in which we live. Others discuss video games and television violence. Still others suggest that the issue lies in the vitriol with which politicians and reporters alike engage the public and each other. And of course, the deceitful opportunists will go further and place the blame squarely on the President of the United States.

In reality, the problem is much more elemental than this and vastly more ominous. What we are witnessing is, quite simply, the latest manifestation of the eternal battle of good against evil where evil is winning.

The devastating consequences of a society’s abandonment of God have played out on numerous occasions. God's destruction of His creation in response to widespread corruption, the Jews' struggles with their own moral frailties as they trekked across the desert in search of the Promised Land, the destruction of Sodom due to its wretchedness even before Lot's escape, Israel's suffering brought about by David's moral indiscretion are but a few examples of the inverse relationship between destruction and famine and closeness to God.

But the association is not merely a physical one. Patrick Henry was correct when he wrote that religion "hath a natural tendency to correct the morals of men, restrain their vices, and preserve the peace of society." It was an insight shared by Congress in its creation of the Northwest Ordinance prompting it to include the words in Article 3 of its charter, "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."

Unfortunately, the agenda-driven courts bent on sealing any porousness in the wall of separation between church and state described by Thomas Jefferson, abandoned those fundamental concepts. And the results, similar to the countless examples painted for us in the Bible, have been nothing short of cataclysmic. In the same time since the courts stripped our schools of prayer, the United States has seen the dissolution of its relationship to God, a deterioration in the collective faith of its citizens, and an acceleration in the hostility, hatred, and overall mayhem taking place within its borders.

Make no mistake about it, what we are witnessing is no less a complete destruction of a society than the evaporation of Sodom. Only this time the destruction is much more foundational than a physical one. We are witnessing the destruction of a nation's soul, and those pointing to Donald Trump, or the Republicans, or social media, or anything short of our devolving devotion to God is losing sight of the real culprit. The culprit is evil itself, and the only path to salvation lies in following the mandates of a Judeo-Christian God.

Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He is the author of The Federalist Pages and serves in the Florida House of Representatives. He can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.comto arrange a lecture or book signing.

I wish it was as simple as what U say, even tho the simplicity of what U write would be complex to cure. We humans R always in a position of choosing between Good and Evil. The problem is that we all do not C what is good and what is evil the same.

My views R basically the same as Dr. Gonzalez , and that is Y I rather religiously read his blog. But, the problem is more than belief or lack of belief in God. If U want to keep God in the equation, U must understand that the bad guys, as U C them, also believe in God, and they think it is U that is wrong, and when I say U, I mean us. The 3 branches of our government R made up of predominantly Christians, with a smattering of Jews and Muslims and Atheists. And it is these Christians and others that R on diametrically opposite sides of what is good and evil in the governing of our country.

I have observed that for most of my life I have been able to convince others by the force of logic when I knew/thought I was right. But I have NEVER been able to convert the thinking of one liberal to Conservative thinking, and some R even my family members.

Yes, again like U, I C this as a battle of good vs evil. Many theologians have written books with titles similar to "WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?" And they always somehow allude to the thinking that this is God's will. LET me also state here, THAT I LOVE PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THINK HE IS A GREAT MAN, lest those that read this think that my views on good and evil are not the same as Dr. Gonzalez. The problem is who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil? I know we R good and they R evil, but unfortunately they seem to think the same of us.

I will stop here because to go on, I would have to get on my soapbox, and tell U all the reasons those evil bastards R evil but that does not seem to be solving the problem. Doing the moral thing and voting one's conscience seems the only right course of action at the moment, but will that work, solving our problems? Unfortunately, I think not.